AB 647,
as amended, Eggman. Beneficial use:begin delete diversionend deletebegin insert storingend insert of water underground.
Under existing law, the right to water or to the use of water is limited to that amount of water that may be reasonably required for the beneficial use to be served. Existing law provides for the reversion of water rights to which a person is entitled when the person fails to beneficially use the water for a period of 5 years. Existing law declares that the storing of water underground, and related diversions for that purpose, constitute a beneficial use of water if the stored water is thereafter applied to the beneficial purposes for which the appropriation for storage was made.
This bill would declare that thebegin delete diversionend deletebegin insert storingend insert of water underground
constitutes a beneficial use of waterbegin delete for which an appropriation may be madeend delete if the diverted water isbegin delete stored and thereafter applied to beneficial use or if beneficial use of the water, including, but not
limited to, protection of water quality or recovery of groundwater levels, is made while the water is underground.end deletebegin insert used while it is in underground storage for specified purposes.end insert This bill would provide that the period for the reversion of a water right does notbegin delete apply to water being beneficiallyend deletebegin insert include any period when the water is beingend insert used in the aquifer orbegin insert storage area or isend insert being held in storage for laterbegin insert application toend insert beneficial usebegin insert,
as prescribedend insert.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
begin insertSection 1242 of the end insertbegin insertWater Codeend insertbegin insert is amended to
2read:end insert
begin insert(a)end insertbegin insert end insertThe storing of water underground, including the
4diversion of streams and the flowing of water on lands necessary
5to the accomplishment ofbegin delete suchend deletebegin insert thatend insert storage, constitutes a beneficial
6use of water if the water so storedbegin delete isend deletebegin insert meets one or both of the
7following conditions:end insert
8begin insert (1)end insertbegin insert end insertbegin insertIsend insert thereafter applied to the beneficial purposes for which
9the appropriation for storage was made.
10(2) Is used while it is in underground storage for one or both
11of the following express purposes:
12(A) Protecting water quality, including providing a hydrostatic
13barrier to saline water intrusion or other contamination.
14(B) Preventing or remediating significant and unreasonable
15land subsidence that substantially interferes with surface land
16uses.
17(b) The forfeiture periods in Sections 1240 and 1241 do
not
18include any period when, consistent with this section, the water is
19being used in the aquifer or storage area or is being held in storage
20for later application to beneficial use.
Section 1242 of the Water Code is amended to
22read:
The diversion of water underground, including the
24diversion of streams and the flowing of water on lands necessary
25to the accomplishment of that diversion, constitutes a beneficial
26use of water for which an appropriation may be made if the
diverted
27water is stored and thereafter applied to beneficial use, consistent
28with this division, or if beneficial use of the water, including, but
29not limited to, protection of water quality or recovery of
30groundwater levels, is made while the water is
underground. The
31forfeiture periods described in this article do not apply to water
P3 1being beneficially used in the aquifer or being held in storage for
2later beneficial use.
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